Every Minute (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
by ilna
Summary: Steve and Catherine spend the day with Mary and Joan. (Part 1 of the REAL World Anniversary McRollathon)


**Notes:** It's so hard to believe it's actually been a YEAR since we launched the REAL World!

Mari and Sammy – Every minute of this journey has been amazing. From the Skype on launch night to co-writing a story together to the marathons and trilogies to the boooooook and beyond! From Mari forgetting what day it was to the frozen corn to the ever-growing cache and even the all-nighter. Thank you for the laughter and the tears. Thank you for being REAL friends!

Esther – I've loved every minute of our friendship. Thank you for your endlessly enthusiastic support and feedback. You are the best!

Readers and REAL McRollers – You make every minute of this experience even better! Thank you for your amazing support the last year. I can say with absolutely no hesitation that we are just getting started, and we are thrilled you're all along for the ride!

 **Enjoy! And check out the endnotes for a special request!**

* * *

 _Every Minute (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)_

The quiet in the house was broken by toddler feet padding down the hallway. A small hand banged on the guestroom door.

"Teeeeeve!" Joan called out. "Ann Caaaf!"

Mary reached her daughter and scooped her up before she could knock again.

"No, no, honey, let them sleep," she said. "They got here really late last night."

Steve opened the door, pulling a freshly donned t-shirt over his chest.

"Teeve!" Joan cried happily, reaching out for him.

"Joanie!" he said and took her from Mary.

He blew a raspberry on her cheek, and she squealed with delight.

"Sorry," Mary said even as she smiled at their interaction. "She's a really early riser."

"So are we," Steve said, nodding back to where Catherine was pulling on yoga pants from her seat on the bed. "Don't worry about it, we were up."

"Pretty soon she'll be able to reach the doorknobs, then nothing will be off-limits," Mary said ruefully. "Baby-proofing the house is one thing. Toddler-proofing is totally another."

Catherine joined them in the doorway with a bright smile.

"Good morning!" she said and tickled Joan's stomach.

"Ann Caf!" Joan said, bouncing happily in Steve's arms.

"Hi, sweetie," Catherine said. "Look at you all ready for the day. What do you have on your dress?"

Joan looked down at the pink cotton dress she was wearing over floral leggings.

She pointed at the big graphic in the middle and said, "Budderply." She looked at her mother for confirmation.

"That's right," Mary said. "Butterfly. And we're going to see the butterflies soon."

Joan turned back to Steve, pointing at her dress again. "Budderply, Teeve!"

He smiled broadly. "I see."

"Mama, go budderply," Joan said.

"Soon, peanut," Mary said, running a hand over Joan's hair. "How about we eat breakfast with Uncle Steve and Aunt Cath first?"

Joan squirmed to get down, and Steve set her on the floor. She immediately toddled down the hall toward the kitchen.

Mary laughed and motioned with her hand. "Follow her."

As they passed the bathroom, Catherine said, "You guys go on, I'll be right there."

Joan saw her detour and moved to follow.

"Uh uh," Mary said, picking her up. "Let's let Aunt Cath have some privacy. She doesn't need an audience."

"Ann Caf," Joan said plaintively as Catherine gave her a little wave.

"I'll be right there," she promised and closed the bathroom door.

"She'll be back in a minute," Mary said and walked down the hallway with Joan in her arms. "Come on, let's show Uncle Steve how you sit in your chair like a big girl."

Joan smiled at him over Mary's shoulder. "Teeve!"

"Right behind you," he said with a smile.

They entered the dining room, and Mary put Joan in her booster seat at the table, buckling the strap around her waist.

"Teeve," Joan said, pointing at the chair next to her.

"Do you want Uncle Steve to sit next to you?" Mary asked.

"Teeve," Joan repeated and nodded.

"I guess so," he said and took a seat.

"Do you want coffee?" Mary asked as she walked around the counter that separated the dining room from the kitchen.

"Yeah, that'd be great, thanks."

"Here," Mary said, tossing him a damp cloth. "Make yourself useful and clean her hands."

"Okay, let's see those hands, Joanie," Steve said and wiped each of her hands as she presented them to him.

"Milk, Mama," Joan called out.

"How do you ask?" her mother said.

"Peas."

"Good girl," Mary said. "Okay, hang on a sec, it's coming."

"I'll get it," Steve offered.

He stood and walked into the kitchen as Catherine entered the dining room.

"Ann Caf!" Joan cried excitedly and held out a hand toward her.

"I am _so_ happy to see you, Joan," Catherine said, giving her hand a little squeeze and bending to press a kiss to the top of her head. "We're going to have so much fun this week. Every minute."

"Sit," Joan said, pointing to the chair beside her. "Sit, Caf."

"Okay," she said and took a seat.

Joan bounced happily and slapped her hand down on the table.

Catherine smiled and mimicked her, much to Joan's delight. She moved her fingers quickly, her nails tapping on the table, and Joan's giggles bubbled out. Catherine chased the toddler's hand with her own, then ran her fingers all the way up Joan's arm and tickled her neck.

"Got you!" she said, and Joan shrieked with laughter even as she scrunched her shoulder up by her ear.

"More!" she cried. "More, Caf!"

"Hey," Steve said with feigned outrage as he and Mary re-entered the dining room. "Someone took my seat."

He smiled and set Joan's milk cup in front of her, and she immediately reached for it with both hands. She put it to her mouth, drinking greedily and looking at the grinning adults around her.

Steve handed a coffee mug to Catherine who smiled her thanks.

"Where should Uncle Steve sit, Joan?" Mary asked, putting a bowl of fruit and several empty dishes on the table.

Still drinking, Joan looked around the table before pointing to the chair across from her.

"Well, I see who the favorite is," Steve said with a chuckle as he put his own mug down at his new spot.

Catherine smirked in response.

"Behold, the fickle toddler," Mary said, smiling broadly.

* * *

After they finished eating a light breakfast, Joan said, "Go budderply."

"Soon, baby girl," Mary said. "The butterflies are still sleeping. And we need to show Uncle Steve and Aunt Cath our house. Do you want to show them your room?"

Joan nodded enthusiastically.

"Out," she said, tugging on the buckle of her booster seat.

"Hang on," Mary said as she stood. "We've gotta get you cleaned up." She headed for the kitchen.

Catherine stood as well, gathering the now empty dishes.

"That was good fruit, huh, Joanie?" Steve asked.

"Nana," Joan said.

"That's right," he said. "You had a lot of bananas."

Catherine passed Mary on her way into the kitchen.

"Just leave them in the sink, Cath. Thanks," Mary said. She took one of Joan's hands and wiped it with a cloth, then did the other hand. "Okay, now the part you hate."

Joan turned her head away as Mary moved the cloth toward her face.

"Nooo," she whimpered when Mary wiped her mouth and nose. "No, Mama."

"Oh, I know," Mary said with an exaggerated groan. "Worst thing in the world." She wiped her mouth one more time. "There. All done."

"Out," Joan said again, this time raising her arms.

Catherine rejoined them, running a hand up Steve's back as he stood. He smiled at her, reaching for her hand and giving it a quick squeeze.

"Here you go," Mary said as she unbuckled Joan and set her on the floor. "Let's go to your room."

Joan took off at a fast toddle down the hallway. She looked back to make sure everyone was following and almost swerved into the wall.

"We're coming," Mary said. "Watch where you're going." She looked at Steve and Catherine. "She's really just got the one speed."

They laughed as they walked down the hallway.

Joan held on to the doorframe of her room, bouncing excitedly as she beamed up at the adults when they reached her. She led them inside, heading for the wooden cube organizer filled with multi-colored baskets, toys, and books that was against one wall.

Pulling out one of the lower baskets, she reached inside and grabbed a yellow shirt in one hand and a blue shirt in the other. She held both up to show Steve and Catherine before dropping them on the floor and going for more.

"Okay, okay," Mary said with a laugh, moving toward her. "Let's not pull out all your clothes." She picked the shirts up off the floor, quickly refolding them and placing them back in the basket. She glanced at Steve and Catherine. "So yeah, this is Joan's room. Oh, okay," she reached for Joan's hand as the toddler started pulling books out of the next cube. "Yeah, you've got a lot of books, huh?"

"This is beautiful," Catherine said, pointing at the floral picture spelling out Joan's name that was hanging on the door.

"Yeah, Aunt Deb got that for her," Mary said.

"Bun," Joan said as she tried to reach between the rails of her bed for her stuffed bunny.

Steve reached in and grabbed it for her.

"Here you go, Joanie."

"Bun!" she said, hugging it to her.

"I still can't believe you guys found another bunny," Mary said.

"Don't look at me," Steve said. "That was all Catherine."

"It was a team effort," Catherine insisted.

He shook his head. "But it was your idea, and you did all the legwork."

"But we never would have gotten it if you hadn't called Hoss and asked him to pick it up."

"And I still think you're downplaying how difficult it was to find," Mary said. "I mean, Elizabeth told me it was a special edition so when we lost it, I thought it was game over."

Catherine gave a little shrug. "Once I had the manufacturing information, it wasn't too hard to find the distributor. It _did_ take a little convincing to get them to agree to check the factory inventory and a little more to secure the actual bunny. But it was definitely worth it," she said, motioning at Joan who was babbling to the bunny and stroking its long ears.

"I wish I would've taken a video of her opening the package," Mary said. "Did you know your friend found wrapping paper that matched Comfort Bunny?"

Steve smiled. "Really? Way to go, Hoss. Always knew he was a softie."

"Takes one to know one," Catherine said, nudging his shoulder.

He flashed her a smile.

"Oh, and that reminds me," Catherine said. "I have a book about a lost bunny for Joan. It comes librarian-recommended. Maybe we can read it later." She looked down at the toddler. "What do you think, Joan? After we see the butterflies?"

"Budderplies," Joan said, running her hand over the butterfly on her dress.

Still holding her bunny, she moved to the corner where a familiar table stood and ran her hand up and down the grooves of one of the spindles.

"What is that, Joan?" Mary asked.

" 'Pindle," Joan said. "G'andpa 'pindle."

Steve's breath caught, and his eyes widened.

"Did she–"

"Yeah," Mary said, a soft smile on her face. "I . . . I show her pictures of Dad so she's learned he's 'Grandpa,' and I . . . I mean, I know it'll be years until she really understands who he is, but I want her to know how important this beautiful table is so I call them 'Grandpa's spindles.' "

Steve swallowed thickly, and Catherine took his hand.

"Another thing I have to thank you for," Mary said, looking at them with a sheen of tears in her eyes.

Catherine put her arm around Mary who let her head drop to Catherine's shoulder. Steve released Catherine's hand so he could bring his arm around her back and squeeze his sister's shoulder.

Joan walked to her mother and gripped her pant leg, holding Comfort Bunny up to her.

"Bun, Mama."

Mary picked her up and held her close. "Thanks, sweetheart."

Joan touched the tear on Mary's cheek.

"Mama needs a kiss, Joan," Mary said.

Joan leaned in and pressed a wet kiss to her mother's cheek.

"Mm, thank you," Mary said, cuddling her close. She looked at Catherine and Steve and smiled, wiping her eyes. "Our tour has gotten a little off-track, huh?"

"We've seen what's really important," Steve said with a small smile.

"And you guys need to get ready," Mary continued. "We should get to the museum early before it gets too crowded. I can show you the rest of the house when Joan goes down for her nap."

They nodded.

"I'll get her changed and ready to go," Mary said. "Maybe she'll let me put her hair up for once."

"Okay," Steve said. "Leave in a half hour?"

Mary nodded.

Catherine smiled at her and glanced at Steve before turning and walking from the room.

He paused and ran a hand over Joan's hair with a gentle smile. He looked at his sister and moved to squeeze her arm, then followed Catherine to get ready for their outing to the Butterfly Pavilion.

* * *

Before entering the Pavilion, Steve, Catherine, Mary, and Joan, along with another family, listened to one of the volunteer docents explain the rules. Then she opened the screen door for them to enter.

"Okay, peanut," Mary said to Joan as they went through the door. "We're going to look at the butterflies and the plants, but we can't touch. Okay?"

"Good luck with that," the other mother said with a smile. She carried a squirming toddler about the same age as Joan in her arms.

Mary laughed. "I know, right?"

"Budderplies!" Joan cried as they stepped onto the path, and she saw butterflies on the flowers and plants as well as flying in the air. "See! See!"

She pointed and wriggled, looking everywhere, her face alight with joy and her pigtails bouncing around her head.

Mary set her down near the edge of the path and squatted behind her. Catherine knelt beside them.

"Do you see the butterfly, Joan?" Catherine asked, pointing to a Monarch resting on a leaf. "She's orange. A Monarch butterfly."

"See budderply," Joan said, reaching out to touch it.

"No, no," Mary said, gently holding her hand back. "Remember, we have to be careful."

The Monarch spread its wings and flew in the air, passing very close to them before rising high.

"Ohhh!" Joan exclaimed, tipping her head back to watch.

Mary caught her as she lost her balance and kissed her cheek before righting her on her feet.

"Teeve!" Joan said, reaching up for him to lift her.

"You want to be high up with those butterflies, don't you, Joanie?" he asked, swinging her up into the air and putting her on his shoulders. "How about that?"

"Budderplies!" Joan squealed as she gripped his hair with one hand and pointed with the other.

He held her legs securely around his neck and winced slightly as she tugged his hair in her excitement.

Catherine smiled at him, leaning up to kiss his cheek. She gently took Joan's hand from his hair and held it in hers. Mary snapped a picture of the trio with her phone.

"Got you," she said with a smile. "That was a good one."

"See?" Joan asked, pointing at the phone.

"Later, sweetheart. Let's see some more butterflies first."

They walked a little further along the path and Joan's head swiveled every way she could to take in all the sights. She had regained her grip on Steve's hair with one hand but kept a hold of two of Catherine's fingers as well.

"Look, Joan," Catherine said, pointing to the purple flowers on a tree in the middle of the Pavilion. "On the flower."

Joan pointed at the flowers on her leggings.

"F'owers," she said.

"Right," Mary said. "Like the flowers on your pants."

" 'Mell, Teeve," Joan said, tapping her legs. "F'owers. 'Mell."

He took an exaggerated sniff at her knee which made her shriek with laughter.

Catherine laughed as well. "I'm surprised the butterflies aren't landing on your pants, Joan."

"When you come back to the island, we'll show you the butterfly bushes in our yard, and you can see the butterflies there, too," Steve said, bouncing Joan a bit on his shoulders. "Cammie loves them."

Mary smiled at the thought.

"Down," Joan said.

Steve craned his head to look at her. "Do you want to get down?"

"Down," Joan repeated.

"Okay," Mary said as Steve lifted Joan off his shoulders and set her on her feet. "But you've gotta hold my hand."

Joan immediately took her mother's hand and tugged her down the path.

"Come on, Commander," Catherine said.

"Okay, but you've gotta hold my hand," he said, matching Mary's tone.

Catherine snorted a laugh.

"What?" he asked, trying to keep a serious face.

He couldn't hold it, and a happy, carefree chuckle burst free. Grinning, he took her hand, and they followed Mary and Joan.

Several minutes later, Steve stood beside Catherine as she bent to get a closer look at a butterfly.

"Look at this gorgeous grey one," she said.

She took her phone out and snapped a picture.

"That's a Grey Cracker," a roaming docent whose nametag read 'Doug' told her.

Catherine looked up at him.

"They're usually found in tropical areas," he continued. "South and Central America, and even up into Texas."

"What's with the name?" Steve asked. "I mean, the 'grey' I get, but . . ."

"The males can make a cracking sound with their wings," Doug said.

"This one I know," Catherine said, pointing to a butterfly with bright eyespots on its wings. "Buckeye, right?"

"Right," Doug said.

"Amazing," she said, gazing at the wings as the butterfly slowly flapped, though it didn't fly from its perch on the plant. "Like it's painted on."

"Nature is the most incredible artist," Doug agreed.

"And that is a Zebra Longwing," Catherine said as a black butterfly with white and yellow stripes flew past them.

Doug smiled. "Right again."

"How do you know so many, Cath?" Mary asked, now holding Joan securely in her arms.

"I studied butterflies for a while when I was a kid. I wanted to recognize different species and learn more about their life cycle."

Steve smiled softly at her. "I think I know why." He reached over and gently touched the silver butterfly necklace she was wearing.

"Oh yeah," Mary said, smiling in realization. "The story you and your dad told at Thanksgiving. That was so beautiful. How if nothing ever changed, there'd be no such things as butterflies."

"When you emailed me about coming here, I decided to bring this along," Catherine said, touching the necklace.

"And it's a good thing I got some pictures to show Joseph when we get to New York," Mary said. "His butterfly in the Butterfly Pavilion."

Catherine laughed.

"I think he'll be more interested in _this_ little butterfly," she said, reaching out and taking Joan into her arms. "So luckily we've got a lot of pictures and videos of _you_ , huh?"

"Budderply," Joan said, touching Catherine's necklace.

"Well, I think our time's about up," Steve said, glancing at his watch. "Are we ready to go?"

"Go," Joan said. She wiggled in Catherine's arms. "Down."

Catherine set her on the ground to walk but kept hold of her hand. Joan reached for Mary's fingers with her other hand.

"Say 'bye-bye, butterflies,' " Mary encouraged her.

Joan released her hand to wave a general farewell to the Pavilion.

"Bye-bye, budderplies."

They were let out one screen door to where a volunteer named Sara was standing in front of another.

"Did you like those butterflies, cutie?" Sara asked Joan.

"Budderplies!" Joan said with a bright smile.

"Okay," Sara said. "I need everyone to do a little spin for me so I can check for any butterfly hitchhikers on your clothes."

Mary and Catherine spun in a circle to show Joan what to do.

"Spin, sweetie," Mary said, and the two women spun again.

Joan giggled, spinning around with her arms out.

"You, too, sir," Sara said to Steve. "No one leaves without a spin."

Catherine and Mary grinned expectantly at him, and Steve turned in a circle.

" 'Pin!" Joan happily cried with a clap. She pointed at him. "Teeve 'pin!"

"He did, didn't he?" Mary said with a teasing smile. "My big, tough SEAL brother just spun in a circle to make sure no butterflies are going home with him." She shared another grin with Catherine. " _Now_ I've seen everything."

"Oh, come on," he said, smiling good-naturedly.

Mary picked up Joan. "We're gonna have lots to tell Aunt Deb about tomorrow, aren't we, peanut?"

Steve took Catherine's hand and smiled at her. "Only one butterfly I want coming home with me."

She tilted her head, touched, and smiled back at him.

"Well, maybe two," he said, reaching over and touching Joan's nose.

She giggled, and the group of four left the Butterfly Pavilion smiling happily.

* * *

Before leaving the museum, they bought Joan a pair of butterfly wings that she insisted on wearing on the car ride back so they were a little worse for wear when they reached home.

After a quick lunch, Joan went down for her nap, and Mary showed Steve and Catherine the rest of their house.

"I tried to keep Joan's toys in the sunroom or her bedroom . . . but they're starting to take over the living room, too," she said as she picked up a baby doll and an Elmo airplane from the floor and tossed them in a toy basket.

She opened the door and led them out to the sunroom.

"We definitely spend the most time here and in the backyard," she said.

"Oh, this is great," Catherine said. "So much natural light."

"Yeah," Mary agreed.

Steve nodded. "It's a good size room."

"And I'm sure if you ask nicely, Joan will show you each and every one of her toys." She laughed. "In fact, she'll do that even if you don't ask." She gestured at the play kitchen. "Hope you like pretend food, Uncle Steve."

He chuckled.

"Speaking of good size," Catherine said. "I love the backyard."

"Yeah," Mary said and motioned for Catherine to open the door leading out onto the small deck. They stepped outside and Mary continued, "It's pretty much what convinced me to put an offer on the house, despite all the renovations it needed."

"Which look amazing, by the way," Catherine said.

"Thanks mostly to your dad's friend. He was so great to work with."

Catherine smiled.

"Joan loves being outside so a big backyard was a must-have," Mary said. "We've got her sand and water table there, and she loves her little house. Eventually I want to get a good swing set, maybe with a slide. The park's pretty close, but it'd be nice to have something here for her."

Steve stepped off the deck.

"This grass needs cutting, Mary," he said.

"I know," she groaned. "There's a kid a couple doors down who usually does it for me, but he's been sick. I was gonna do it myself, but this week has been crazy busy."

"I saw a mower in the garage. Does it work?"

Mary rolled her eyes. "Of course it works."

He shrugged. "Okay, I'll do it."

"Steve, you don't have to. I can–"

"Mare, come on." He gestured at the lawn. "It needs it, I'm here. It'll take me 30 minutes, tops."

Mary shrugged finally. "Okay. Knock yourself out." She smiled. "You know, while you're at it, there's a big bag of sand in the garage. Joan's table needs to be re-filled," she said, half-teasing.

He glanced over at the colorful activity table and nodded.

"Okay," he said. "Consider it done."

Mary smiled genuinely. "Thanks, bro."

He nodded. "You're welcome."

"I really need to finish packing anyway," she said. "I'm nowhere near ready."

"Do you want some help?" Catherine asked.

Mary smiled. "Sure. Thanks."

Catherine looked over at Steve and smiled. "Have fun."

He quirked an eyebrow. "I'd rather mow the lawn than pack."

"I know you would," she said with knowing smile before she and Mary disappeared inside.

"Most everything is in my room," Mary said as they walked down the hall toward the bedrooms. "I just need to get it all organized and into suitcases."

They reached her bedroom and she gestured at the laundry baskets on the floor.

"I do okay cleaning the rest of the house, but I never seem to catch up on laundry. Half the time I feel like we're living out of laundry baskets."

Catherine smiled. "We have those days, too."

Mary lifted the larger of the two suitcases onto her bed, and Catherine picked up the smaller one.

"I hope you've got room for the butterfly wings," Catherine said.

Mary gave a rueful chuckle. "I know. I can't believe we managed to convince her to take them off for her nap."

They began sorting through the laundry baskets and filling the suitcases with clothes.

"It's actually supposed to be fairly warm in New York this week," Catherine said. "High 70s and low 80s."

There was a quiet ding announcing a text message, and Mary glanced at her phone on her nightstand. Her lips quirked in a half smile before she turned her attention back to her suitcase.

Catherine paused, then asked, "So what's his name?"

Mary looked at her. "Huh?"

"The text," Catherine said, nodding toward the phone. "I saw you smile . . . the kind of smile that says it was from someone special."

Mary chuckled. "You really don't miss a thing, do you?"

Catherine gave an apologetic shrug. "You don't have to tell me."

Mary bit her lip, but couldn't contain her smile.

"His name's Aaron."

Catherine raised her eyebrows. "And . . .?" she prompted, smiling.

Mary sighed, adding clothes to her suitcase. "We're not really . . . I mean, nothing's really happened. We only went on one actual date. Which got cut short when Joan got a little stomach bug. And you can't count the time we met."

"Which was when?" Catherine asked, folding one of Joan's t-shirts.

"About a month ago. It was at a birthday party for a little boy in Joan's playgroup. Avery. Aaron's his uncle." She shrugged. "We were the only single people there, and we started talking and joking around."

"What's he like?"

"He's really nice. Sweet. And smart." She rolled her eyes slightly. "So, in other words, way different from anyone else I've ever dated."

Catherine tilted her head, starting to speak, but Mary put up a hand.

"It's okay, I know I've dated some real jerks," she said. "Aaron's different."

Catherine smiled. "I'm happy for you."

"I mean, it's not like I'm picking out china patterns or anything." She shrugged again. "I'm not rushing into a relationship. Joan is my number one priority. And Aaron gets that."

"Good. That's really good, Mary."

They continued packing the suitcases.

"Speaking of birthdays . . ." Catherine said after a few minutes. "My parents and Grandma Ang want to do something for Joan while we're in New York."

"Oh, they don't have to do that."

"You've met my mom and Grandma Ang. There is no stopping them when they get an idea."

Mary chuckled, then sighed.

"Catherine, your parents . . . and Grandma Ang . . . they're . . . they're amazing. I mean, Steve always said . . ." Her voice trailed off, and she shook her head. "But then I met them at Thanksgiving and they just . . . they treated me and Joan like . . . like . . ."

"Like family," Catherine said, reaching over and squeezing her hand. " 'Cause that's what you are."

Mary sniffed and laughed, wiping at her eyes. "Oh, come on, I don't want to cry twice in one day."

Catherine laughed lightly.

They both turned to the nightstand as they heard Joan babbling on the baby monitor.

"Uh oh, sounds like someone is awake," Mary said. "She's gonna be ready for a snack."

Switching off the monitor, she took a step toward the door. She stopped and looked back at Catherine.

"Are you gonna tell Steve?" she asked. "About Aaron?"

"Why wouldn't you?" Catherine asked, her brow knitted.

Mary sighed. "You know how he'll get. All big brother-ish."

"Because he loves you."

"I know, I know, but . . ."

"You met a nice guy, Mary. He'll want to know that."

"I just . . ." She sighed again and nodded. "Okay. You're right. I'll tell him."

"Tell me what?" Steve asked, coming in with Joan in his arms. He nodded at the toddler. "I heard her as I passed her room."

Catherine moved toward them.

"Hey, sweetie," she said as Joan rubbed her eye. "What do you say we go get your snack?"

She held her hands out to coax Joan to her.

"Fish!" Joan said, reaching for Catherine who took her from Steve and glanced at Mary.

"Goldfish," Mary told her. "They're in the pantry."

"Okay," Catherine said. "Goldfish it is. Let's go, honey."

She flashed a quick look at Steve and headed out of the bedroom with Joan.

Steve's eyes followed Catherine then turned back to Mary.

"Tell me what?" he repeated.

Mary sighed, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"There's a guy I've . . . kinda been seeing."

Steve paused.

"Okay," he said with a nod. "What's his name?"

"Aaron."

"Aaron what?"

Mary rolled her eyes. "Do you want his date of birth, too, so you can run a background check?"

"That would be helpful, yes," Steve said seriously.

She groaned. "Steve."

"What?"

"Come on."

" 'Come on' what?" He shrugged, motioning toward the hallway. "Catherine can do it if you want, but it's gettin' done."

"Steve, I'm a big girl."

He sighed. "I know that."

"I know I haven't given you much reason to trust my judgment . . ."

"Hey, Mary, come on," he said, sitting beside her. "It's not that. I mean, okay, you made some mistakes in the past, but you're not that person anymore."

She looked up at him.

"But that's not why I . . ." He sighed. "That's not the only reason."

She gave him a questioning look.

He paused.

"We don't have a . . . a normal family history here, Mare. I just want to be sure nothing from my past . . . or Doris' . . . or even Dad's comes back to hurt you or Joan."

She sighed, a small smile on her face.

"He's a nice guy," she said.

"I believe you," he said. He cracked a smile. "I'm still gonna check him out."

She chuckled, shaking her head.

His expression fell. "I didn't . . . I wasn't there to . . ."

She put a hand on his arm to stop him. "Steve."

He nodded, looking down.

After a moment, he glanced at her and asked, "We gonna meet him this weekend?"

She smiled. "No, he's on a business trip."

Steve raised an eyebrow.

"He's a software designer."

"Impressive," he teased.

She rolled her eyes and nudged his shoulder.

He chuckled.

"Come on," she said, standing. "Enough about _my_ love life. Let's go check on yours."

He smiled and stood, following her out of the room.

* * *

Most of the afternoon was spent outside as Joan showed Steve and Catherine her newly re-filled sand and water table. She tried to get them both into her small house, and giggled uncontrollably when Steve was too big to fit. Mary got out Joan's ride-on car, and they watched her push herself around the driveway and dance happily to the music it played.

Later, Catherine helped Mary fix a simple dinner of grilled cheese and tomato soup while Joan prepared Uncle Steve a plethora of pretend food in her play kitchen. He "sipped milk" from a teacup and took exaggerated "bites" from the cloth and plastic food she served him on pink plates.

After dinner, they all went for a walk through the neighborhood, each adult taking turns pulling Joan in her red wagon. Catherine snapped a picture of Joan reclining in pink sunglasses, one arm laid along the back of the wagon and the other along the side, her leg propped up on the seat in what Mary called her "high life" pose. They made several stops so Joan could get out and they could all say hello to the friendly dogs who were in their yards or on walks, prompting Catherine to make a quick call home to check on Cammie.

Before bed, Mary gave Joan a bath, and Catherine read her _Knuffle Bunny_ , which she explained was pronounced 'Kuh-nuffle Bunny' according to the librarian, Miss Kristin, and featured a little girl frantically searching for her favorite stuffed bunny after it was accidentally left at the laundromat. Joan insisted Catherine read the "Nuff Bun" story several times as she clutched her own Comfort Bunny in her lap and helped turn the pages.

Once Joan had gone to sleep, Mary, Steve, and Catherine sat on the deck talking companionably for a while before Mary went inside to finish packing. Steve and Catherine stayed outside for another half hour before going inside themselves.

In their room, Catherine removed her shirt, tucking it into the dirty clothes bag in her suitcase.

"What a great day," she said, not for the first time.

"Yeah," he agreed, stripping off his shirt and pants.

He stepped up behind her and slid his hands around her waist to the warm skin of her stomach, sliding lower to thumb open the button on her jeans.

"And you don't seem so exhausted tonight . . ." he murmured before raising one hand to brush her hair back and pressing his lips below her ear.

Her eyes drifted shut and she tilted her head to the side to give him more room, raising a hand and threading her fingers through his hair.

His hand smoothed over her soft shoulder, his fingers following the strap of her bra down and tracing the edge along the rise of her breast.

"Mmm, you lookin' to make it a great night, Commander?"

He paused and his hands stilled.

"Every night's a great night with you, Cath," he said quietly.

She turned in his arms and looked into his eyes. He gave her a soft smile, and she reached up to kiss him, cradling his face in her hands.

"I love you," she whispered against his lips.

He pressed his forehead to hers, his eyes closed.

"I love you," he said earnestly. "Every minute."

* * *

 _Knuffle Bunny_ is written and illustrated by the incomparable Mo Willems (Hyperion, 2004).

 **REAL McRollers! We want to hear your favorite moments from the last year of REAL World stories!**

 _Check out the endnotes for each story during the Anniversary McRollathon for a prompt and leave your favorites in a review, on Twitter (#REALMcRoller), on Tumblr (mcrollintherealworld at tumblr dot com), or send us an email (realmcroll at yahoo dot com)._

 **Today: What are your favorite REAL World romantic moments?**

I have a few:

Steve replacing the backsplash in _Worth Every Penny_

The intertwined hearts in _In Writing_

The lemon drops in (of course) _Lemon Drops_

And that's just to list a few! I could go on and on and on . . .

What are yours?


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